


I Know Why

by historicandgay (dannylawrence)



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: Falling In Love, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-10-25 23:11:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17734454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dannylawrence/pseuds/historicandgay
Summary: "He wants to be friends with me, who knows why?"TJ meets Cyrus when Cyrus is in need of a muffin and TJ is in need of a tutor. Then TJ and Cyrus meet again when they need each other. And then they keep meeting.The story of TJ falling in love with Cyrus.





	I Know Why

The world didn’t stop when TJ met Cyrus, he wouldn’t even say time slowed down, but Cyrus is pulled, quite literally, into his worldview in a moment, and Cyrus’s eyes are too wide and too scared, and TJ knows nothing about him, but maybe he just wanted to change that. Maybe he felt his heart beat a second too fast when he saw him. Maybe there wasn’t any judgment when TJ asked him if he couldn’t get his own muffin, just a sudden fondness for such an odd vulnerability. Maybe he decided he would help Cyrus because, for some reason, he wanted to make his eyes a little less wide, and a little less scared.

 

Or maybe he just wanted Buffy to be his tutor.

* * *

 

TJ sees Cyrus before he hears him singing. He’s tired, and he definitely, definitely, hadn’t been crying, his eyes reddened around the rims from allergies, if anyone asked. But he remembers Cyrus’s hesitant smile, the gentleness in the way he spoke, and he realizes he doesn’t want to be alone right now as much as he thought he did.

 

He supposes he shouldn’t be surprised that Cyrus remembers him as “scary basketball guy”, he was friends with Buffy, he couldn’t imagine she said the nicest things about him to Cyrus. But he wants Cyrus to know him. Cyrus is kind and he’s so different than himself, but somehow he understands. The need to go away, do something else, be someone else.

 

They don’t even talk for that long before Buffy shows up, but even then Cyrus makes him laugh and makes him feel more understood, more happy, in those few minutes, then he had felt in a long time. When he pushes Cyrus on the swings and hears him shout then laugh, he just wants to stay there. Stay there with Cyrus who makes him feel better, who doesn’t make him feel stupid. Who doesn’t make him feel like he has to be “scary basketball guy”. On the swingset with Cyrus, TJ lets himself be happy.

 

Cyrus tells him that he knows where to find him. TJ really hopes he does.

* * *

 

TJ feels a smile on his face as soon as he sees Cyrus. When Cyrus invites him to his Bar Mitzvah he doesn’t even think about saying no. Well, he looks at the date on the invite and thinks about how he told Reed they’d hang out that night, but then just as quickly thinks about where he’d rather be.

* * *

 

The next time TJ feels tired, Cyrus comes to him.

 

He wants to be alone, really. He knows he can’t be anything other than angry and tired right now, but Cyrus is here and Cyrus always makes him feel like he should be better than that, but he can’t be, so really, Cyrus should just leave. It’s not like he could make him happy forever, anyway. It wasn’t like he could keep pushing Cyrus on the swings and keep hearing his laughter. It wasn’t like Cyrus could continually make TJ feel like he was worth more than he was.

 

But, Cyrus follows TJ when he leaves, and god, if his heart could weirdly stop beating faster, and if his face could kindly stop heating up when that happens, that would be great, thank you. He knew it was probably just out of embarrassment, but still.

 

Cyrus is relentlessly supportive, and it is honestly more than a little annoying. He always listens, he always knows what to say, always helps him. He tells TJ that there’s nothing wrong with him and it feels amazing. But all he wants is to forget about everything happening to him in his head and just get back to basketball.

* * *

 

He apologizes to time capsule Buffy because he wants to talk to Cyrus, but after everything, he can’t deny it’s what he honestly needs to do. He was awful to her. Jealous might be a slight understatement, but that had more or less been the root of it. That, plus everything with math, and all the crap in his head, he hadn’t exactly been primed and ready to deal with someone just a little too like himself, but as he saw it, a much smarter version of himself.

 

Cyrus can’t do a somersault, because of course he can’t. And of course, Cyrus somehow makes not knowing how to do a somersault endearing. Apparently, he needs to learn how to do one though, and TJ wants to help.

 

It feels good, to finally have the chance to be supportive of Cyrus in the same way Cyrus has always been supportive of him. Whether it was a somersault, or getting a chocolate chocolate chip muffin, TJ wanted to be there for more of it. He wanted to help Cyrus in the same way Cyrus helped him.

 

There’s a list of things Cyrus thinks he can’t do. TJ thinks that list should be a lot shorter.

* * *

 

TJ passes a math test. One that he really, really hadn’t expected to pass.

 

He could barely wait to the end of the class to tell people, but he knew it was doubtful he would’ve gotten this far without the support of one person. And he wanted to tell him first.

* * *

 

TJ and Cyrus (mostly Cyrus) think of the perfect plan to get Buffy back on the team and her and TJ on better standing. A mostly perfect plan, anyway. They (Cyrus) come up with it in The Spoon, because where else, honestly, and Cyrus was definitely right about the baby tater quality. However, they get about five minutes into their plan before Cyrus begins doing an elaborate performance, via tater, of how exactly that plan will play out.

 

_“I do not talk like that, Cyrus.”_

 

_“TJ, focus, the visualization of yourself through baby tater is the only path to true self-comprehension.”_

 

 _“Yeah, now that I’ve seen a piece of fried potato bit saying_ ‘Isn’t Cyrus a genius, Buffy?’ _In a, as previously mentioned, extremely high voice, I’ve truly been enlightened.”_

 

_“Okay, mister too-good-for-baby-tater-reenactment, maybe a live-action rehearsal would explain it better.”_

 

_“Cyrus.”_

 

TJ doesn’t mind when the baby taters get cold.

* * *

 

Needless to say, the plan does not go exactly as they thought it would. But, Buffy agrees to play one-on-one with him. He loses, but not by that much, regardless of whatever Buffy said later.  

 

When Buffy wins, Cyrus hugs her. And almost passingly, TJ thinks he would’ve liked to win, not because he wanted to beat Buffy, but just because maybe if he had won, he would be the one getting to hug Cyrus. Whatever, it wasn’t like it was a big deal, hugs don’t mean anything.

 

 _Yes, they do_. A very stupid voice in TJ’s head says. Which it was. Stupid. Because why would hugs mean anything in particular to him? People hug other people all the time. Friends hug friends, so Cyrus hugged Buffy, and sure Cyrus didn’t hug TJ, but they were friends. Cyrus was a friend. Cyrus wants everyone to be friends, that’s why he wanted TJ to really apologize to real Buffy so badly. And, like he had said, he really had been horrible to her, so it was what she deserved.

 

When he finished his apology-rap, the first thing TJ thinks about is the smile on Cyrus’s face. It’s surprised and open, and adorable and- oh.  _Oh._

 

It was adorable. Cyrus was adorable. TJ thought Cyrus was adorable. How had he not realized it before? Had Cyrus always been this adorable? That was a stupid question, of course he had been. What did this mean? That was… another stupid question, he knew what it meant.

 

He really just needed to get out of here. He turned and walked away, but Cyrus was still in his head. He was beginning to notice that Cyrus usually was.

 

Cyrus, with his too-wide, too-scared brown eyes and soft hair. Cyrus who somehow knew how to help everyone around him. Cyrus who had a list of things he was too scared to do, or didn’t know how to do, but was still the bravest person TJ had ever met. Cyrus, who made TJ laugh on swingsets and park benches and with baby taters and at school. Cyrus, who smiled and made TJ feel lighter. Cyrus, who was kind and good and a friend to everyone he met. Cyrus, with the gentlest voice TJ had ever heard. Cyrus, who TJ thought he might do anything for. Cyrus, who TJ thought he might be a little bit in love with.

 

When TJ turned around and looked at Cyrus, he had no idea what to think or where to go from here, but he thought maybe, just maybe, Cyrus would meet him there. 

**Author's Note:**

> First Andi Mack fic, hope y'all liked it! God, it is so weird but so amazing to think of them actually getting together when a year ago no one thought they would ever actually go anywhere near there. I'm happy, y'all. 
> 
> On tumblr @historicandgay


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